FIJIANS CONTINUE TO SPEND MORE ON ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, TOBACCO AND NARCOTICS

September Quarter 2017

says the Fiji Bureau of Statistics in a report on the Consumer Price Index for the period ending December 2017. There was a 31.7 per cent rise in this category compared to a 27.2 rise for the corresponding period the previous year, the report said. The release also stated that fewer and fewer people are spending money on education, furniture items, clothing and footwear.

In a separate release, the bureau recorded a total of $86,3million for the sale of hardware, paints and glass in the September quarter of last year. This sector is the highest contributor in the wholesale and retail trade sales which stood at $984.6m for the three quarters ending September last year. This is recorded as the highest amount contributed by the sector since 2015.

The total wholesale and retail trade sales stood at $984.6million for the three quarters ending September last year. This was recorded in the Fiji Bureau of Statistics report on the Wholesale and Retail Trade for September 2017. This is an increase of $18.8m (1.9 per cent) from the September quarter of 2016. The increase was a result of the increase in sale of motor vehicle and alcoholic beverages. When compared to the June quarter of 2017, the total sales had increased by $7.2m (0.7 per cent). The bureau stated that the positive result was due to the increase in sale of hardware material and alcoholic beverages. The bureau’s survey covers registered businesses engaged in Wholesale and retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles that accounts for 80 per cent of Total Turnover in this sector. The statistics provides a short-term indicator of the industry’s performance.